The Ukrainian offensive on Russian soil in Kursk is a “severe blow” to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s propaganda, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday. And, he added on X, lifting restrictions on the use of weapons supplied by the West would allow Ukrainian forces to strengthen their defense capabilities and “save lives.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies on Monday to allow kyiv to strike Russia with the long-range weapons delivered, in order to “stop the advance” of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine.
While the Ukrainian military offensive launched on August 6 in the Russian region of Kursk is receiving a lot of attention because it brings hostilities to the attacker’s soil, the epicentre of the fighting remains eastern Ukraine, where the Kremlin’s troops, better equipped and more numerous, continue to advance.
“Ukraine can stop the advance of the Russian army on the front only by one decision that we expect from our partners: the decision on long-range capabilities,” Zelensky told Ukrainian ambassadors in kyiv.
Lifting these restrictions would strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities by removing the “sanctuary” that Russia enjoys deep in its territory to strike Ukrainian targets, Borrell explained. It would also allow “advancing peace efforts,” he added.
This topic will be discussed at an upcoming meeting of EU foreign ministers on August 29 in Brussels, in the presence of Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba. It will be followed the next day by a meeting of their defense colleagues.
Several Western countries, including the United States, maintain restrictions on the use on Russian soil of the weapons they supply to Ukraine. Washington, long hostile, has however authorized kyiv to strike legitimate military targets in Russia, but only near the border, notably around Kharkiv, where the Russian army launched an offensive in May.
This article is originally published on .lorientlejour.com
